Ashen Dragon
Chapter 720 - Chapter 720 Chapter 103 The Devil Arrested

Chapter 720: Chapter 103 The Devil Arrested Chapter 720: Chapter 103 The Devil Arrested “Mark, don’t hesitate anymore, you were born to be the heir here, this is the inheritance your father left for you, it will always be…”

“Stop it, Frank.”

The young man named Mark gripped the whip in his hand, looking at the flocks of sheep in the distance, the endless deep green grasslands, he clenched his teeth and fell silent.

But upon closer observation, one could discover a horrifying truth–there was no one around him.

Mark Brown was the rightful heir to this fertile land and herd.

Decades ago, his father Tommy Brown was a serf. But Tommy joined the Ashen Kingdom, gradually became a junior officer, and took this land and the herd from the hands of the Northern Nobility.

But the good times didn’t last. Due to the recurrence of an old injury from the battlefield, his father passed away, leaving behind only the seven-year-old Mark and his mother to depend on each other.

Such a huge ranch could not be managed by a woman and a young boy alone. Soon, they had an uninvited guest–so-called Uncle Gordon Gray, Mark’s stepfather.

What’s more, to Mark’s displeasure, Gordon had a young son with his mother in a short time, who was named Theodore Gray and was much beloved.

Theodore, the child blessed by the Deity, a name that shows how much he was cherished by his parents.

Listening to the baby’s endless cries at night, watching his mother and stepfather’s joyful smiles, Mark clenched his fists, feeling nothing but a deep sense of gloom, as if he was a stranger here.

Not long after, his mother, weakened by years of mistreatment from the slave owner, fell ill and seemed to have little time left.

Once his mother was gone, the last blood relative Mark had in this world would vanish, leaving only the strange and distant stepfather behind.

“Could it be that this ranch my father left behind… will carry the Gray name in the future?” Mark sighed to himself, looking at the familiar pasture and crowded livestock.

He had been sitting beside the haystack for half a day now, the night had turned pitch black, and Mark wanted to return to the house his father had left for him, yet he didn’t want to face the strange stepfather.

“Mark, haven’t you figured it out yet? If you continue to hesitate, if you’re kind-hearted and soft-hearted, you will end up as a slave of the Gray family…”

A hissing, grating voice echoed in Mark’s ear, the same voice as before.

After his father’s death, Mark became increasingly reclusive, with few friends in the village, often weeping alone into the night.

But his stepfather and mother poured almost all their attention into the newborn, Mark’s “little brother,” completely oblivious to anything unusual.

However, in recent months, Mark had befriended the only confidante he had, a creature with tattered wings and red skin named Frank.

Apart from Mark, it seems no one could see Frank, not even his mother and stepfather.

Mark was initially wary of this self-proclaimed Wish Elf, keeping his guard up.

But as time went by, feeling neglected by his current family, Mark found himself increasingly confiding to Frank about his life’s miseries, and their interactions became more and more frequent, even to the point of sharing everything.

“Frank, if you keep talking like that, they are still my family; I can’t treat them that way…” Mark’s voice trembled, his eyes unfocused.

However, Frank leaned close to his ear and whispered in that grating voice: “Family? Do they really regard you as family? Think about it. Mark, the pastures, house, sheep, and even your mother’s love–all of these should belong to you!”

“But now? You’re nothing but a slave managing the ranch for them!”

Frank’s sharp, acerbic mockery was like a dagger coated with poison, piercing deep into Mark’s heart.

“No, it can’t be!”

Mark shook his head repeatedly, flinging Frank’s brushing claw away from his face and curled up next to the haystack, cradling his head in his arms.

He spoke with a choked voice, “Yes, yes, I still have my mother, she won’t abandon me, she has always loved me…”

Frank flapped his ragged wings, flew around Mark, and even patted his shoulder with his red claw, as if to offer comfort.

“Mark, I understand how you feel, but… have you ever thought about why your mother fell ill so suddenly? Think about it, Mark, if your mother passes away, who stands to gain the most?”

“The valuable wealth your father earned through his efforts, your sheep, pastures, and house, who will they end up with?”

Thus, under Frank’s persuasive coaxing, Mark, with tears in his eyes, softly uttered the name he didn’t want to mention.

“Gordon Gray.”

“More precisely, your little brother too–Theodore Gray. Tsk, such an ambitious name for the child gifted by the gods.”

Frank let out a hoarse chuckle, continuing to speak: “In the face of accessible benefits, even the life of a wife is trivial.

Think about it, Mark, when your mother is poisoned to death by him, Gordon Gray will rightfully occupy your house, own your sheep, and pass on all the property to Theodore.

And you, you’ll just be a slave serving their Gray family.”

Hearing the terrible scenario painted by Frank, Mark trembled with rage, and bloodshot appeared in his moist eyes. “No, this is all my father left behind, he traded his life for it!”